Catching up on a season or two of a TV series takes time and
explains the delay in posting this movie list, which includes a trio of series,
the silent Oscar winner, an early talkie classic and a few uninspiring fill-ins.
Here is what I have watched since I posted my last list.
[The ratings I give are on my own number system which is explained at the link
on the sidebar].
Modern Family
(Season Two) – 2010 (3.1). A good TV series should get better in the second
season, after the characters have become familiar to the audience and the
writers can get deeper into the nuances and development of their personalities.
Modern Family met this test and was not only funnier but more genuine feeling
about the relationships between the various family members. As explained in one
of the special features, the producers have limited the use of guest stars so
as not to distract from the main characters, which is a good idea when the show
has a diverse ensemble already.
Upstairs Downstairs
– 2010 and 2012 (3.0). Trying to follow up on the classic series from decades
past, this nine episode version shown on PBS has a new family taking over the
abandoned residence and hiring staff to set up the household. Once again, the
upstairs Lord is part of the elite class and the servants below are mere
underlings, yet all have their own stories which sometimes intermingle. There
seems to be an inordinate amount of famous persons in history passing through
the episodes and much less time spent developing the characters that was done
in the original. There is probably more pressure on the modern producers to
grab the audience with plot than there was in the days of the original, and the
new series may not have succeeded sufficiently to enable a third season. The
story line covered the time from 1936 to the beginning of the war with Germany,
so it would be interesting to see what happens to the characters during the
war.
Modern Family
(Season One) – 2009 (2.9). Three diverse branches of an eccentric family
generate lots of laughs with their quirks and foibles as they struggle with
their issues, but always manage to end up on a positive note of family unity. I
haven’t watched situation comedy TV for years, but the praise for this series
induced me to give it a try. I almost bailed out after a few episodes because
it seemed repetitious, but it was funny enough where I watched the whole
season.
Doc Martin
(Season Two) – 2005 (2.9). The local eccentrics lose some of their freshness in
the second season and the unsettled relationship of the Doc and school teacher
starts to feel a little stale, but then there are visits from the Doc’s parents
and the teacher’s father that shed light
on the back story and make both characters more sympathetic. We also get more
of a connection with the personal life of the village policeman and the new
receptionist. Doc’s brusque way with patients leads to an inquiry and the
possibility he may undergo sensitivity training.
The Artist – 2011
(2.8). I have seen many silent movies through the years and read a fair amount
about the history of film making during those early years, so The Artist was not anything new to me.
The fact that such a film was made in this day and age was a surprise, but the
fact that Hollywood embraced it at the Oscars was not. For Hollywood, watching
the film was like a nostalgic look at favorite old home movies. The film has
done reasonably well at the box office, I am not surprised that it was not a
chart topper, because general audiences would not fully appreciate the quality
of this nostalgic tribute to the silent screen.
The Girl on the
Bridge – 1999 (2.8). French director Patrice Leconte makes movies in which
the characters talk a lot, yet they always seem to be moving along, maybe
without much conventional story but I always find the talk and story appealing
enough to hold my interest. This one is a little quirky as a young girl who
can’t say no to men is talked out of a suicidal bridge jump by a knife thrower
in need of a new target. While following them on this new partnership, we are
invited to contemplate what makes for a lasting hookup and what role luck plays
in our lives.
The Blue Angel
(German Version) – 1930 (2.8). At first this first German sound classic seems
like just a vehicle to show Marlene Deitrich in garters, but once the prudish
professor played by Emil Jannings becomes smitten with the nightclub
entertainer we realize it it a movie about his downfall. Deitrich is so
appealing as the sweet but wise girl he falls for and then she is so appalling
as the wife who humiliates him. It is easy to see why she became a star.
A Voyage Round My
Father – 1984 (2.7). The reason to watch this Brit TV movie is to see
Laurence Olivier in the twilight of his career showing his acting chops playing
the self-centered blind barrister father of John Mortimer (creator of Rumpole
of the Bailey), on whose memoir the movie is based.
Rango – 2011
(2.6). This clever PG rated animated take-off on spaghetti westerns includes
lots of classic cinema related homages all done with high quality animation,
but the story itself was not that interesting and the cleverness never seemed
to jell into anything memorable.
The Return – 2003
(2.4). The outdoor locations in this Russian movie were scenic in a way, yet
ultimately bleak, and the same could be said for the script. Two sons, maybe 15
and 12, who never knew their father, come home one day to find he has suddenly
appeared from a 12 year unexplained absence. The older boy wants to be thrilled
by the prodigal father, but the younger one wants answers. The father takes
them on a fishing trip to a remote island and acts like a survivalist military
instructor, though there is a slight undercurrent of wanting to be a loving dad
but not having the slightest idea of how to do it. Good acting and direction
can’t make up for a story that takes almost two hours to tell us practically
nothing.
